Fleeting moment: Trump meets Shehbaz—for a full 36-seconds!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In what could be the shortest-ever meeting between two heads of government, US President Donald Trump met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for a full 36 seconds on Tuesday, the media reported.
On his part, Sharif, accompanied by his deputy Mohammad Ishaq Dar, claimed he “engaged in an informal conversation” with Trump on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Summit in New York.
Their meeting happened during a gathering of Arab and Muslim leaders hosted by Trump and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, according to a statement released by Sharif’s office.
Visuals of the meeting shared on social media showed that Trump’s interaction with the Pakistani delegation lasted for only 36 seconds.
Last week, Pakistani media reported that the Army chief, “Field Marshal” Asim Munir, may also accompany Sharif during the meeting. However, Munir was noticeably absent from the gathering.
After years of diplomatic shunning, the US-Pakistan ties saw warmth when Islamabad gave Trump the credit for his so-called peace intervention during the anti-terror military conflict with India in May. The US President repeatedly claimed he helped broker a truce between two nuclear-armed Asian neighbours using trade and tariff threats, a claim India vehemently denies.
Islamabad also initially said the ceasefire was reached after its Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) approached his Indian counterpart with the proposal, but later took a U-turn and gave the credit for the breakthrough to Washington, and even nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
To pressurize India, Trump even hosted Munir at the White House in June and discussed trade, economic development, and cryptocurrency. Days later, in July, the Trump administration announced a trade deal with Pakistan and said Washington would help Islamabad develop its “massive oil reserves.”
Munir returned to Washington again in August. Islamabad secured a USD 500 million investment from the United States that will focus on Pakistan’s critical minerals sector.
